Finding One’s Identity

Several characters in this novel struggle to determine their identity based on their pasts and the labels that have been placed upon them. Cynthia, Naomi and Josey are all characters who struggle to determine exactly who they are. These characters struggle to reconcile who others say they are compared to who they believe they are.

Cynthia is the character who has the most dramatic change once she determines her identity. Before she makes the discovery that the man who raised her and sold her for sex was not her biological father, Cynthia was sexually promiscuous, angry and abusive. She determined her worth based on how the man she believed was her father treated her. Once she realized “It’s not who my daddy was. It’s who he wasn’t” (328) that Cynthia forgives her mother for the way she was treated. This forgiveness...